1. Field of Inventive Subject Matter
The inventive subject matter relates to methods for reconditioning a barrel previously used for containing a substance, comprising the steps of determining cutting parameters specific to the barrel material to provide controlled cutting of the barrel material; removing a desired depth of the barrel material using an automated high pressure water cutting device; testing for a remnant of the substance using a sensor device; optionally spraying with a dissolving agent; and repeating the steps of removing and testing upon detecting the presence of the substance in or on the barrel. Additionally, the inventive methods comprise applying a liquid to the wood of the reconditioned barrel to control evaporation of the barrel contents. In particular, the inventive subject matter relates to improved methods for reconditioning wood wine barrels.
2. Background
Fine wines are traditionally aged in oak barrels. The oak is integral to aging and imparts certain flavors to the wines. Every season, when trees are felled, experts from cooperages are on hand to select the best oak wood for use in the manufacture of barrels and vats. This selection is the initial phase that essentially determines the quality of the finished product. The oak is examined both before and after being cut, and wood is selected based on many criteria, including tree shape and growing conditions. These factors determine the textural variety of wood fibers, the fineness of its grain, and its tannin content. Tight grain and fine tannin content are found in the best wood.
The art of barrel making, known as cooperage, is an ancient skill. Despite improvement from modern research, analysis, machinery, and wood selection techniques, the actual barrel making process has changed very little over the years and is extremely time intensive. To achieve the highest standards of quality, most of the work must still be done by hand by a highly skilled cooper. Thus, barrels are relatively quite expensive for businesses which buy barrels for aging or storage, such as winemaking, liquor making, and food packaging.
Wine fermenting and aging in wood barrels extracts flavor components from the wood and leaves a residue of precipitated materials such as tartrates, finning agents, or yeast. Wine penetrates into a solid barrel stave approximately 3/16 to ¼ inch. Even over a period of many years, exchange occurs through this depth.
Over time, all components which can be extracted from oak are, and the residue left in the wood can begin to sour or block the membrane exchange ability of the wood. The wine aging process can also leave undesirable bacterial contamination in a barrel, and there is no adequate current remedy for the problems created by residues and bacterial contamination. The barrel is then considered exhausted and is viewed either as a liability because of contamination, or at best as neutral storage for additional vintages.
The costs for winemakers and others to purchase new, top quality French oak barrels is quite high. Barrel reconditioning is one solution to this problem of high cost. Reconditioned barrels may cost a winemaker anywhere between $50 and $150; a substantially lower amount than the $700 or more for new French oak. In the 1970s and 1980s, a variety of companies were reconditioning barrels with mixed to poor results. This inconsistency turned many winemakers and other barrel purchasers away from reconditioning.
Additionally, the reuse of barrels is becoming an environmental issue. Reusing wine barrels can save hundreds of trees, and stop excessive waste created by discarded barrels.
In one prior art method of barrel shaving, bottom cutting routers or rotating wire brushes are used. These methods are largely unsuitable for making barrel environments to properly age premium wines. Although inadequate, however, these services remain in business because they are able to remove a small amount of the barrel's inner surface for a very modest fee. Barrel shaving, routers, and brushes all suffer the same failure. They remove material in a direction perpendicular to the grain of the barrel staves using mechanical cutting. This shreds the barrel surface and then must be sanded off. Sanding may actually cause greater deterioration to the barrel surface because it may grind exhausted wood into the pores of the newly exposed wood. When a barrel is retoasted after sanding, very undesirable “off” flavors can thus be baked into the new surface. Additionally, these processes may not remove enough wood to expose truly new wood, uncontaminated by previous wine.
A second prior art method, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,265 to Stone, involves a method and apparatus for reconditioning wood wine barrels in which an open wine barrel (i.e., with ends removed) is placed on a barrel rotator stand and positioned into a planer-cutter apparatus. Cutting parameters are set, and a horizontal screw advances the cutter into the barrel, cutting a swath the length of the barrel stave. The cutting process is repeated through the number of passes required. The barrel is dried, placed on a toasting rotator stand, and toasted. As with previous methods to remove all undesirable wood, at times this plane-cutter process may not remove all remnants of wood which has absorbed wine. Again, when a barrel is retoasted, very undesirable “off” flavors can thus be baked into the new surface.
The inventive subject matter provides an improved method for reconditioning barrels, especially wood wine barrels. In a preferred embodiment, a used wine barrel with the heads removed is placed on a stand, cutting parameters are set, and an automated high pressure water cutting device is used to cut a swath to a pre-determined depth the length of the inside of the barrel. Preferably, the depth of cut of the high pressure water cutting device is actively monitored. Optionally, a laser depth sensing device is used with the high pressure water cutting head to monitor depth of cutting. The cutting process is repeated through the number of passes required to recondition the inside of the barrel.
After the cutting step is complete, the barrel is tested for the presence of a remnant of the wine using a sensor device which is capable of detecting wine residue in or on the barrel, preferably a light source and detector sensor such as a laser or an air sensor which detects substances associated with wine residue. If residue is detected, the cutting and testing steps are repeated until the amount of residue is undetectable or is below a threshold amount selected by the user. In the alternative or in combination, if residue is detected, a dissolving solution is sprayed on barrel surface to remove the residue.
The barrel is then dried, optionally on a toasting rotator stand, and is then positioned so that the elements of a toaster are inside the barrel, and the barrel ends are closed. The barrel heads are planed, dried, sanded, and toasted, and the barrel is re-assembled. Finally, the barrel is optionally sulphured and/or is treated with a composition which controls the rate of evaporation from the barrel in order to approximate the evaporation rate of a new barrel.